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What's in Your Project Management Tool Belt?

What does a Project Manager need to know about Project Management?

Don’t worry, this isn’t a job interview; it’s okay to say “It depends.”  Another acceptable answer is “everything, including knowing what to use, and when to use it.”

It seems like, once you get past a core set of skills there is a lot of variation, between companies, when it comes to what is expected of a Project Manager.  I’ve also noticed variation in what is expected of a Project Manager from different employees within the same company.  A starting point might include the following:

• Communicating effectively
• Facilitating meetings
• Documenting and managing project tasks/schedule (often using software that displays a WBS and Gantt chart or some variation of a Kanban board)
• Identifying/managing risks and issues
• Managing project scope changes
• Creating status reports/dashboards
• Various “soft” skills

Regardless of how long you work as a Project Manager, it is important that you understand the nature of work and how it can be accomplished.  You also need to understand the culture and structure of the organization you work in to choose the best approach to successfully accomplish the work to be performed.  Here are some areas to study:

• Agile/Kanban/Lean
• Scaling Agile
• DevOps
• Waterfall (in its various forms)
• Six Sigma
• Organizational Change Management
• Project Portfolio Management
• Benefits Realization Management

As a PMP, I feel obligated to say that you need to know the PMBOK.  I also feel the need to point out that it is the PMBOK Guide, emphasis on ‘Guide,’ and that there are other approaches, such as Prince2, that may be more relevant to your career.  Knowing what is relevant to your career is more important than using the topics I’ve mentioned as a checklist for things you need to know.

This tool belt is starting to sound more like a mechanic’s tool box.  You’ve seen them – red or grey, almost as big as your car, on wheels, with drawers containing tools that may only be needed occasionally, for a very specific job.  Stay in project management long enough and, like a mechanic, you too will fill up a tool box with both basic and specialized tools.  But, you’ll still want your tool belt.  It’s where you keep the most important tools that you use on a regular basis.  What’s in yours?

While not a Utah native, Aaron Porter (insert alphabet soup here) raised his kids here and enjoys the sense of community he's found in Utah.  He maintains an on-again, off-again relationship with his blog on projectmanagement.com where he also participates in discussions on project management topics.  His most recent collaboration was on a DAVSC quick reference guide, available to the DAVSC community.  This is Aaron’s second time on the PMINUC Board of Directors; his first time was from 2010-2012 as VP of Education.  In between board positions, Aaron enjoyed volunteering as a project manager mentor, in the chapter and with other non-profits.